Love After Death
by LadyGranuaille
Summary: Alternate ending to the battle on Mustafa. The diffuculties of a split personality and a double life for the new Sith, Skywalker. Rated T for a teensy bit of language, and suggested 'activities'.
1. Chapter 1

Premise:

Master and Padawan were locked in mortal battle-it seemed as though neither could survive.

"You can't win, Anakin. I have the upper ground."

Preparing for a mighty leap, the newly-born Sith started to think perhaps his opponent was right. He looked up to recheck the dimensions when he saw her. Padme; his love. The one he was doing all this for. What was she doing here? Her face was pallid, her eyes dazed. She was walking slightly staggered, as though she were drunk with Alderaan Ale. But that couldn't be. She was pregnant with their son. He let his guard down as the vision flashed through his mind. He shook his head, trying to regain focus. All of this had taken place in a matter of milliseconds, but it was enough for Obi-Wan to make a move. He used a Force-push to shove the equipment Anakin was standing on. It propelled further into the lava flow. He than began to override the system. The equipment was easy to manipulate-deftly his fingers flashed over the keyboard, reconfiguring the entire grid.

Vader fell to his knees at the sudden momentum away from the mainland. He jumped up, gathered the Dark Side about himself, and moved back to shore. In anticipation for what he was sure would be the death blow, he tossed his saber back and forth between his hands.

Looking up, Kenobi saw his lost Padawan engaging in an all too familiar battle game. He always did this in training sessions, seconds before he defeated an opponent. Yoda had time and again warned against it,

"Mindful of his subconscious tendencies, a Jedi must be, else his enemy take vantage from them."

Obi-Wan felt real fear now. He might actually die.

Chapter I

Anakin paced around the room. He sensed, or thought he felt, Padme in the Force. That was impossible-he'd never had an incorrect vision. He'd seen her die a thousand times in his nightmares. Always, it was in childbirth. For awhile, he'd felt a familiar aura, but at the same time it was one he didn't recognize. His master had told him perhaps it was his son, reaching out with an infant's grasp the power of the Force. Listening to the reason in the Emperor's knowledge, Anakin began a search. Like Pharaoh, he ordered baby boys on many of the major planets not killed, but scanned for midichlorians. Those found wanting were tagged, as would become customary in the Empire. The babes with Jedi potential, however, were slaughtered. The Emperor had at first argued against this, seeing it as a waste of potential, but then his clever apprentice had reminded him,

"There will still be the females to carry on the genes to the next generation."

"Ah, yes, my apprentice. How right you are, it is the in the 'x' chromosome that the midichlorians make themselves carried."

He had then ordered all the clones to dispose of all the male infants. But than what was this he felt? Darth Vader had felt the sense intensify, but he hid this from his master. The idea of his son surviving reminded the Sith of his vulnerability. However, it was feeling the presence of his love that sent him into a tumult. How angry he still was with his former master and her! He'd tried telling himself that his suspicions were irrelevant-she loved him, and him alone. But that had been before he had turned, to save her!

"Arrr!"

He yelled his frustration. Many of the men working on the new Death Star turned to stare, but they knew better than to continue doing so. One particular sergeant was unnerved at how suddenly the Sith lord gave a wry grin. His yellow eyes glinted, metallically. Shaking his head, Vader said aloud for whomever to hear,

"Isn't it ironic?"

No one dared respond, but he carried on in the farce conversation anyway,

"I gave up everything for her, and than she runs to that bearded old fool."

Regaining his composure, Vader turned in a sweeping arc, back to his quarters. His black cape flowing out behind, he created all too much fear in the crew. The sergeant would be sure to note the detrimental effects this had on morale.

Vader sensed this adversity and shook his head in disappointment. Everyone heard his heavy boots clank back to the command deck,

"SERGEANT VYKES!"

The disconsolate man stood and faced his superior, not desiring to delay the inevitable. Every man worked harder than ever, in vain hopes of distracting themselves from the soon-to-come encounter. The Sith again gave that grin, squinting his eyes, he said,

"Don't forget to include THIS into your report!"

As he said "this", Vader had begun the Force choke on the helpless sergeant. Calmly, the hooded villain raised his mechanical arm, letting the moment etch itself into the man's memory.

"Now, now, now, my apprentice. However are these men to get on with the space station if you continue to terrorize them?"

The ominous presence of the Emperor had sent a chill up the spine of every man present. Several swallowed dryly in fear.

"I'm sorry, my master. Just thought I'd teach this one a lesson."

With this, Vykes was released. He fell to the ground with a resounding 'thud' on the ground. As he crouched on the ground, feeling his throat for bruises, yet finding none, the Emperor addressed him in his mind,

"You are hereby relieved of this space station, sergeant. You are to find post in my offices on Coruscant. Your shrewdness is required there."

The man was forced onto his feet as the Emperor lifted his hands, like a puppeteer with a marionette. Vykes rushed from the room, tripping half way down the hall.

Vader glared at him as he exited, snorted to himself.

"What is it that my master desires? Surely more than to spare the lives of replaceable peons."

"Don't forget that, my apprentice. Peons are replaceable."

He glared at Vader, letting the full weight of his statement sink in. Of course he didn't mean it. He just said it to embarrass the younger Sith. Others would hear this, and whisper. This would cause Vader to doubt himself. The doubt would breed hatred…hatred lead further into the dark side.

"Good," the Emperor thought to himself, "He's been growing too confident."

Outloud, he said, "You've been hiding something from me, my apprentice. You sense Padme Amidala. Why didn't you share this with me?"

"I was debating whether it was truly her. I knew that you have a greater grasp of the Force. If such a foe remained, certainly you would have sensed it first. I didn't want to distract you with such...trivial matters."

"Vader, I am going to let you in on a secret. You may have noticed this yourself, but you are more able to sense those people close to you than I. Besides, I have been expending my energies searching for Yoda. I am relying on you to find Master Kenobi and the pathetic little Senator from Naboo."

"I am sorry, my master. It won't happen again. I thank you for informing me of my uses to you. Do you want me to send out probes to search for her?"

"No, no. I believe that you will be far better at finding this particular fugitive. Make haste and bring her back alive, if at all possible. Use your own discretion, and do not attempt to contact me unless it is absolutely necessary. Otherwise, she may have sensors up looking for a feed to me. This is one of the few warning systems the Rebel Scum have perfected. Our other form of communication is to be disrupted for now. You will need to focus on bending her mind to your will. Understood?"

"Yes my master. Will that be all?"

"One more thing, Vader, I hope it isn't necessary to remind you to maintain your loyalties to me",

This last part he said in that mournful voice he had perfected over the years in the Senate,

"Don't let that little minx distract you."

"Never, my master."

With a swoosh of black fabric, the apprentice left the room. He stalked down the corridor until he reached a lift. He punched in the authorization code for the flight deck. Once there, he raced to his craft and jumped in. Before lifting off, he felt his saber at his side. He had taken off into the black of space before any of the clones could ask if he required escort.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II:

The twins were now two years old. It had been two whole years since she had seen him, and now this. Obi Wan was always doubtful of his ability to sense other Jedi, but a Sith he was sure of.

"It's him, Padme. It's Anakin."

They had both seen the black Tie Fighter crash into the planet's atmosphere. It had a rude spaceport, but large enough to keep Vader distracted for a few days. Bali Organa had returned from Alderaan as the Empire had begun to settle, but was disturbed upon hearing this.

"We must evacuate the base!" he had insisted, "If nothing else, to protect you, milady, and your children."

Yes, the children had to be thought of. Finally, she had come to a decision. She couldn't run from her estranged husband forever.

"Senator Organa, we have been friends for many years. You have come to my aid so many times, so I will ask of you just one last favor."

"Anything."

"I need you to take my daughter, Leia, with you back to Alderaan. To insure that you will be safe to raise her, I am ordering you to cease all activities with the Rebellion."

Here, he attempted to argue, but she held her hand up,

"We need to re-collect our forces and formulate a new system. This guerilla warfare will not over throw the Emperor."

Everyone present nodded in agreement. She continued,

"Someday, we will need friends in powerful, influential places throughout the galaxy. I'm going to need you to not be on the Sith-hit-list, too many of our allies already are."

Obi Wan smiled to himself, but it was a bitter smile.

"Will you raise my daughter in the peace she deserves?"

The Senator nodded. He knew that as the representative of Alderaan, he would maintain his position until he died, resigned, or was found incompetent by vote. This would indeed secure the Alliance a powerful aide in the years to come, if he was able to remain aloof. Hardening herself against emotion, the ex-queen retrieved her beloved daughter. Surrendering the babbling baby to her new father, she couldn't stop a tear as it slid down her cheek,

"Good-bye, Leia."

Organa left immediately, no one halted his haste. Obi Wan addressed another important issue,

"And what of the boy, Luke. Where will he go?"

"If you will, Master Kenobi, I would prefer if you kept watch over him on Tatooine."

"I am a Jedi, milady, not a babysitter."

"I'm not asking you to raise him. Leave him to be cared for by his uncle- Shmi's son. All I request is that you make sure he remains...hidden."

"Of course, Padme. I understand completely. Is there anything else?"

"No, leave as soon as you can- Now!"

As she said this, a sudden pain gripped her heart. Even though she wasn't gifted in the ways of the Force, she could still feel the presence of Him. Obi Wan felt it, too.

"I'll hold him off, you must help the others create a new base."

"No, Padme. This is suicide."

"It's what must be done."

Grabbing a blaster, she gave him no room to argue,

"As you wish, milady."

Lord Vader cursed himself as he felt many lives slip away, towards the port. He'd gone through all the trouble of walking here to be undetected, and all for naught! All well, she was still in there. He could tell. His master would be very angry when he found out Kenobi and the son had escaped. For a moment, the Sith considered keeping this information to himself. He quickly dismissed this possibility-his master knew everything.

"But someday I will be stronger than him,"

Vader made a pact within himself. Someday, all his grief would be avenged upon the Emperor. Gathering the forces of the Dark Side, he slashed his way through the barriers into the now empty Rebel Base.

Padme heard him, with every echo of his lightsaber tearing through another door. She sat quietly in the conference room. She'd personally taken care of any information by blasting away at all the computers, save one. Its only purpose was the self destruct mechanism of the base. The droids had all been wiped, too. Most had gone on with the others. But two stayed behind. R2D2 and C3PO had been with her through everything, it was only fitting they be there now. They didn't know this, though, their memories being empty. They were at such an angle that they could view all that occurred, but no one in the room could see them. She had left the protocol droid in hibernation mode, but the other would record all that happened in its memory for Obi-Wan to review. To the last, she was a rebel.

Oddly, she was calm. She was sitting on a divan, with the blaster on her lap. She was dressed military, even her hair was tied back without adornment. The only thing out of place was her heart-it beat madly within her. Finally, she couldn't take it any more. Using a trick Obi Wan had taught her, she focused all her thoughts on Anakin, asking him to stop the assault, see if a negotiation could be met. Suddenly, the barrage of noise ended. But, painfully, something else took its place to echo in her head. She understood that he agreed. His using the Force to communicate was like a surgeon's needle in her mind, and she quickly broke the connection.

"It never hurt when Obi Wan spoke to me" she thought.

Entering the codes to open the seals between her and her executioner, she wiped away another tear.

"For Luke", she thought.

And another slid down her chin as she realized she'd never said goodbye to her son.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III:

Vader walked coldly down the long corridor, taking his time. He made many mental notes of the impressive resourcefulness of the Rebels. They would be hard to stamp out. The walk over, through a tundra-like wood, had been approximately three miles. It had taken him less than a half hour to complete it, but he had done lots of thinking. In the icy coldness of space, he had felt nothing for his wife. But now, as he drew nearer to where she was, he began to recall the color of her eyes, the softness of her skin, even the sound of her voice. He had lost complete control of his emotions when she'd contacted him. Only two people had ever done that before, both his masters. Obi Wan's kithe was calming, but devoid of any sentiments. The Emperor's was numbing, demanding and full of so much anger. But Padme-she felt like everything he'd missed; warmth, happiness, sunshine, love. Love, what was that again?

As he stepped through the last slider door, he remembered.

She gasped slightly as he stood there. He'd changed so much. Not in a blatantly obvious way, but she noticed little things. His eyes had deep circles of purple under them. His hair had grown out a little longer-he now kept it tied back. But most disturbing was his skin. It had a sickly yellow tone to it, as though he had jaundice. She immediately recognized it for what it really was, though. Many humanoids that spent more than half a year in space at a time developed it. Resulting from a lack of exposure to natural sunlight, it was quickly remedied by just that. He still wore all black, but a heavy hooded cloak had been added, along with a more dangerous looking lightsaber.

He noticed changes in her, also. Small wrinkles had begun to etch in her face. Little crevices crept out from the corners of her mouth, and around her eyes. Her eyes. They were blood shot and red, from crying. She'd lost her innocent air, that naivette that came so naturally to young women full of ideals. He knew he was partly to blame. He had practically been the cause of the fall of democracy. So many times they'd argued over politics, he believing that a dictatorship was the only way to secure peace. Only now did he realize how wrong he'd been.

"As representative of the planet Naboo, I request total amnesty. I am a cooperative prisoner, and request to be treated as such."

She had presented this speech numerous times to hordes of droids, clones and other minions of the Emperor, always saved at the last second of capture by Kenobi's mind tricks. But not this time. She shuddered as the realization came over her that the Evil Emperor knew this. That's why he'd sent his apprentice. Sighing, she had nearly given up all hope of ever seeing her beloved Anakin ever again. Now, he was her executioner.

He sensed the turmoil and sudden cold repulsion in her. For a brief second he had held fantasies like those he had held all those years ago.

"I am more powerful than the Chancellor. I can overthrow him, and together you and I can rule the galaxy. Make things the way we want them to be..."

He smirked as he recalled her reaction. Total rejection. Exactly how she treated him now, but then again, this time, she was at the mercy of a Sith Lord.

"Milady, I would think of treating you as nothing less, or more. However, I can't promise my master will be so...benevolent as I. Therefore, I request that you give me a sign of your harmonious nature."

"What do you want, Lord Vader?"

"For starters, Padme, please stop calling me that. Part of me is still Anakin."

His eyes suddenly became clear,

"Can't we just go back to where we were? Start over?"

He let out an exuberant laugh. She stared at him, disbelieving. This was the man she'd been conditioning herself against since he had struck her. This is the Darth Vader of the Sith? But he's my Anakin! Suddenly, she rushed into his arms. He received her, recalling a well of memories. They wouldn't be kept at bay-like a tidal wave, his emotions crashed through.

"Oh Padme, its not what I'd thought it would be. The Emperor is cruel and cunning. I'm not becoming more powerful, I'm only his underling. And worst of all, I've lost you."

His body shuddered as the tears came. The yellow of his eyes faded to the blue she remembered.

"Anakin. I've missed you so much. You can still come back to us. Just forget everything that's happened. Obi Wan will forgive you, I'm sure of it."

At the sound of his old master's name, Vader suddenly became cold. He pushed Padme away from him.

"Do you really believe I would betray the Emperor like that?"

She swallowed in fear. He'd never shown so much…anger before. Hadn't he just been denouncing the Emperor? The yellow haze had returned to the iris of his eyes.

"I just thought maybe you'd like to come back."

"For what? The back-stabbing Jedi and his haphazard rebellion?"

"No, Anakin. For me. Don't you see? Nothing else matters. After you left, I thought I'd never see you again. And now that you're here, I don't ever want to let you go."

She softly placed her head on his shoulder. This was too much. He tipped her chin up to look into her eyes. The soft, deep brown was welled over in tears. He let his forehead rest on hers, so he could look down onto her face, and she up into his.

"Do you still love me? After everything I've put you through?"

"Oh, Anakin. I'll always love you."

"Than you're right-nothing else matters."

Unable to hold back any longer, they met one another's lips in an almost painful kiss. Painful for its intensity, for all the memories of hurt and remorse that came with it. He'd hurt her, he suddenly realized. He'd known that all along, but only on the surface. The fact that he'd damaged this flesh that was more precious to him than anything in the universe-it bared down on him with unparalleled guilt. He suddenly pulled back.

"What is it?"

"Padme, I need you to tell me that you forgive me. Because-I am so sorry for everything."

"Anakin, so many times I've tried to tell myself I shouldn't forgive you. But it was Obi Wan who finally helped me to. He said-he said that you weren't the same man. That it was pointless to blame Anakin Skywalker, the man I love, for the actions of Darth Vader. But I never really believed that. I have forgiven you, though, Ani."

And she thought to herself, "But I don't trust you any more."

He smiled, his old smile. It was that smile from so long ago, from the picnic on Naboo. They both melted into each other. It was as though they were still in their little apartment in Coruscant, with all the lights sparkling. There was none of the cruelty she'd expected. She didn't hold back, to his surprise. They fell to the couch together, in a tangle of limbs and emotions.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter:IV

Hours later, they finally separated. She lay across his chest, idly playing with a curl at the base of his neck. His right hand was under his head, and he smiled at her fascination with his hair. They again locked eyes, passion just as raw as though they when they'd first kissed. She closed her eyes and arched her neck to meet his mouth. He began to lean in to return the gesture, when a throbbing pain erupted in his mind.

He began to pound his temples with both hands, yelling,

"No, no NO!"

"Ani, what is it?"

"He's in my head. Oh gods. He's coming. He's bringing clones. He knows.."

He trailed off, moaning in pain.

"Who? Anakin, whose coming?"

"The Emperor...my master."

"Oh no. We have to leave. Now. There's still a cruiser left in the docking bay. It doesn't have any weapons. But I'm sure with your piloting skills, we'll be able to improvise."

She thought to herself, "And just when things were starting to go so...well."

She began to dash around the room, putting her clothes back on, and stashing more into a small pack. He watched her with an almost predatory intensity. He knew what had to be done. It would just take a few moments to collect himself. Besides, he wanted to savor the memory of her. It was something he'd forgotten to do last time.

"Anakin, what are you doing just sitting there? We need to leave. Anakin? What's wrong?"

He looked away, then closed his eyes and let his head roll back. The power of the Dark Side consumed him. When he again opened his eyes, they glowed the yellow of a Sith.

Padme recognized immediately what had happened. This is how he'd looked and acted just before he'd choked her, almost killing her.

"Anakin...stop it. You're scaring me. Please, come back!"

But he was gone now-as sure as the blue of his eyes. She ran from the room, searching madly for a blaster pistol. He shook his head,

"You can run but you can't HIDE!"

He took his time pulling his black clothes back on, knowing she couldn't escape. He'd blasted the docking bay on his way in, to prevent any of the rebels from escaping that way. Padme discovered this painful seconds later. Panicking, she tried to contact Kenobi with her mind, knowing it was futile.

"He's probably thousands of parsecs from here by now," she muttered.

"Yes, he is."

She whirled to face Vader. Yes, this was Vader. Anakin was gone-Obi Wan had been right all along.

"Please, Anakin, come back. Don't hurt me!"

"Don't call me that NAME!"

He used the Force to push her to the ground.

"I...Am...Darth...VADER!"

She felt her back crushed as he contorted her into a bowing position.

"Lord of the Sith!"

Her head hit the marble floor. Blood flowed from a fresh wound on her eyebrow. She began to cry pitifully, salty tears mixing with saltier blood. Battling for control of himself, Anakin broke through the visage of Vader. Falling to his knees, fists at his ears,

"No! I won't do it! I love her!"

In his head, a voice that sounded like his own rolled out,

"Yes you will! Your master commands it!"

Not wanting to interfere with the battle of selves, Padme kept her peace. As he continued to cringe in obvious effort for control, she snuck away from him. She was almost to the COM link operator, when she heard a voice that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

"Thought you'd get away, did you?"

Her nails drug along the floor, screeching and bringing blood as he Forced her back. He continued to use the Force to perform the torture he was too at odds with himself to do. He raised her, so that she grabbed at her neck trying to free it of hands that weren't there.

"My master needs you, as a blood mare. Apparently, Jedi run in your family."

She finally caught his gaze and looked into his eyes,

"Anakin, please. I love you."

A wave of fury passed over his features, but then pain. WHOOSH! She dropped to the floor in a pile of bruised limbs and tangled hair. Still clutching her neck, she pulled her head up to look at him. His eyes were again blue, she wept, weakly.

His voice filled with raw emotion, "And I will always love you."

With this, he raised his lightsaber and cut her down. The tears and the pain came in a typhoon. Anger, sorrow, pain, frustration, the burning desire for revenge, again, sorrow. He stared at her broken body, hoping she might still come back.

"No, that won't happen. She must be gone forever."

Remembering why he'd taken her life in the first place, he set about the task of destroying any of her DNA. But he couldn't bring himself to even touch her lifeless vessel.

"I'll just destroy the building. No more evidence. The Emperor will be angry, but she had started the self-destruct command. There wasn't time to halt it. Couldn't get her to come alive."

"Of course the Emperor will be angry, you fool! For all the times you've let her go, do you think he's just going to let this go away? He needed those gene lines! And now they're gone!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V:

Obi-Wan had only heard the last part of this argument between the same voice. He stood there observing the scene. Padme lay on the ground, a small pool of blood around her hair. He gasped inwardly as he saw the slash across her chest. The burn of a lightsaber. His eyes narrowed, Anakin had killed her. The bastard was now typing away at one of the smoking computers, some how making it obey his command. Shaking his head, the Jedi thought,

"If only I'd been here a few moments sooner! Damn, why did I hesitate after the first time she contacted me?"

Bringing himself back to the present, a Jedi must not dwell too much on the Past, he swallowed as he prepared for what came next. He could feel Vader's darkness tainting the Force. But at the same time, he felt Anakin, grappling with that darkness. Both psyches were in vulnerable states of mind, he could see a million threads of consciousness. He found a fresh memory stream, with Padme's face. He focused on it, following it up to the present. He tried to follow the piece from the Emperor, but hit a brick wall. He opened his eyes. Vader sat stock still over the body of Padme, collecting some of her spilt blood into a small vial. It was just like the one that Qui-Gon had used all those years ago to test the child Anakin for midichlorians. Kenobi searched the Force for Anakin, but found him gone. Vader had complete control now. But Obi-Wan had learned enough. He now had plenty of valuable knowledge to bring to Yoda, and the Rebels.

Knowing the element of surprise was lost, the Jedi Master powered up his lightsaber. The soft hum sent him into battle mode, a trick he'd learned in the temples as a padawan.

Hearing the throb of his old master's battle cry within the Force, Darth Vader stood and also powered his saber.

"Come to claim to corpse of the dead queen, Jedi? How noble."

"How can you be so lost, Anakin? Where did I fail you?"

For a moment, Obi-Wan let his guard down to see how the Sith would react. Perhaps Skywalker would come back, just long enough for Kenobi to gain the upper hand early in the battle. But that wasn't to happen. Somewhere, deep within that mind, the psyche of Anakin Skywalker was locked away.

"You should have never started the training of Anakin Skywalker, Jedi. You failed him everyday you attempted to be a Master."

He chuckled deeply, a rolling baritone that frightened the weathered Kenobi.

"Your attempt at a surrogate father was indeed an absolute failure. What was it you said? Ah yes, 'You can depend on me, Son.'"

Again, the haunting laugh.

"So this is how it's going to be. So be it."

Kenobi nodded as he said the last word, and regained his stance of aggression,

"Let's get this over with, then."

They stopped the circular pacing that had begun with their pre-fight banter and both struck out. Their weapons met, the scent of ozone filled the air. Both grappled for the upper hand; incendiary molecules filled the air between them. Kenobi gritted his teeth with the effort. But Vader just smiled, madly enamored with the rage of battle.

The Jedi broke the lock, spun around and slashed at his former padawan's belly. But Vader was too quick; he leapt back, losing only a shred of his cloak. Kenobi had been surprised the Sith hadn't discarded it before the fight, but now understood why. The swirling black confused him and protected its wearer.

Pulling his hood up with one hand, he threw Kenobi against the opposite wall with the other. He began to stalk off towards the Jedi's X-wing. But Obi-Wan was quick to recover. He ran and made a sloppy lunge. It would've beheaded his former padawan, had not Vader ducked and struck at his opponent's feet. Kenobi leapt into the air. Again, both sabers caught each other, neither able to gain control.

"You can't win this, Jedi. I'm stronger than anything you've ever encountered. And certainly ever will, since this will be your last battle!"

Vader powered down his saber, and, allowing the momentum Obi-Wan had been maintaining against his weapon to follow through, and prepared to behead the older man. But Obi-Wan saw a window-the Sith had left his arms and core exposed. Unable to make the final death blow, he struck at the former. Vader screamed as his arms, one real and one mechanical, fell to the floor. His red saber clamored shut as his pain turned to rage. Knowing he wouldn't have another chance to once and for all defeat this foe, Kenobi slashed at his legs, too.

The renewed screams filled the air, but with a little help this time. The base's warning system had begun to whine. Kenobi rushed to the COM link.

"Damn!" the Jedi exclaimed, "You set the auto-destruct. Why?"

Vader smiled, began a broken, wheezing laugh that was more chilling than the deep toned one of before. But Kenobi already knew the answer. It was to insure that Padme's Jedi-genes were never made available to the Emperor. His vast power and connection to cloners made the most abominable activities possible. Knowing that this was the last action of the forever lost Anakin Skywalker, he left it be.

"Fine then. You go down with her."

Powering down his saber, the Jedi began to run back to his ship. But he heard a familiar "Beep, whirl...honk! Beep".

"R2! Well, hurry up. And you might as well come along, too 3PO. Won't even be worth scrap metal after this."

The smaller droid switched its taller companion on, and both made their weary progress to the ship.

"Oh, R2, why did you wake me? I was nearly finished completely updating my language servers. If you'd allowed me one second longer, I could have been able to translate Wookie! Where are we going in such a hurry?"

A few sharp beeps informed the protocol droid of the dire situation at hand.

"Oh, in that case, Wait for us, Master Kenobi!"

As they lifted off, the Jedi saw the building implode. Not wanting to let the vision haunt him, he stabbed his coordinates into the data computer and lifted off.

Perhaps he should've stayed. Than, he would have seen yet another small, black Tie Fighter burst into the atmosphere. But instead of landing at the space port, this one went directly to the scene of carnage. From it, three clones emerged, followed by a short, wrinkled and pale man, dressed in a heavy black cloak. Despite his apparent age, he ordered the drones with surprising energy. They went into the burning hulk of the collapsed Rebel Base. The Emperor had come to see if anything of his beloved apprentice remained. Today, the Dark Side smiled on him. Reemerging from the chaos two of the clones carried the massacred, but still alive, body of Darth Vader. The third had fallen victim to the still vicious killer's rage. This was only another one of the many lives Darth Vader would take, for years to come.

THE END


End file.
